Rendezvous will return

The Encampment Town Council meeting of March 11, 2021 began with Josh Saier of the Sierra Madre Muzzle Loaders Club requesting permission to use the Grand Encampment Museum grounds for the annual Rendezvous to be held July 23-25.

The council was happy to approve the request and look forward to getting back to normal as last year’s event was not held due to the COVID pandemic.

There will be some changes for this year’s event, however. The traditional pig roast dinner will not be held due to concerns that there may still be some COVID mandates in place. If there are any mandates still in place in July, they will be followed but the event will take place unless there are further restrictions put into place by the government.

Property owner Dan Hammer was then given the floor. He was there to request a street be built so that he can access his property without having to drive through sage brush. Mayor Greg Salisbury informed him that he needed to submit plans or a proposal for the council to review before action could be taken.

Hammer stated that his nephew has also purchased property at the same location so there will be more than one residence in the future.

Next, the property at 105 Dillon Avenue was discussed. The owner was not present. Apparently, there have been issues with the sewer on the property for years. As it turns out, the previous owner never hooked the property into the sewer lines the town put in many years ago. A septic tank has been in use unbeknownst to the current owner and who has been paying sewer fees for as long as they have owned the property.

Councilmember Bill Craig informed the council that there had been a payment plan put in place when the town ran the sewer lines to help with the cost of hooking up to the town sewer system. This is how the sewer fees would have started to be charged but follow up to ensure properties completed the installation of the sewer may not have taken place.

Since fees have been paid for several years, the council decided to waive the tap fee. A letter is to be issued and the owner of the property will have a deadline of October 1, 2021 in which to complete the installation of sewer lines to the residence.

Lastly, Council member Gary Stull brought up the topic of the Grand Encampment Cemetery. Stull, said that he has been driving by it for years and the state of the cemetery has become a sore spot with him even though he does not have any relatives buried there.

He stated that since Encampment has one of the best museums in Wyoming, the historic cemetery should also be so well preserved. Stull stated the he went to the accessor’s office at the Carbon County Courthouse in Rawlins to determine who owns the cemetery. It turns out that the Town of Encampment does own the property.

Stull said that there are scouts who are willing to help with the clean up and right the tombstones of the cemetery to earn their citizenship badges. He also requested that a culvert and/or small bridge be installed so that a mower would be able to access the property.

There was discussion on this topic. The area around the cemetery is irrigated which would make it difficult to keep the grass mowed in the summer. Efforts have been made in the past to make the cemetery look presentable but the projects have always fallen to the wayside. Stull argued that if there were a culvert to help divert some water and create access, then effort to keep up the property could be made at least in the spring and fall.

Donations will be sought to assist the town with the renovations to the historic cemetery.

The next regular meeting of the Encampment Town Council will be April 8, 2021 at 7 p.m. at the Encampment Town Hall.